It all began with a Tin of Aloe
by Midnight Minute
Summary: Red? Had Levi heard the Commander properly? What the hell was that even supposed to mean? Disregarding the Commander's previous words, Levi moved to put his shirt on, grouchily pulling the fabric up over his shoulders in a quick motion. Instantly, his skin burned and ached; his shoulders throbbing against the material and bringing him to clench his teeth in pain. ...What the hell?
1. Chapter 1

Hello Readers!

Once upon a time, Midnight decided that she would go on a float trip with her husband and thought with it being such lovely fall weather, that she would not require sun block – regardless her past history of burning to a crisp many, many times during her childhood. After six hours on the river, she was as red as a lobster with painful blisters all over her arms and legs. No one could approach her without being reprimanded with a loud, 'NO TOUCH!'

Weeks slowly past by and she peeled twice; many nights previous had been filled with itchy skin and many bottles of aloe were lost to the cause. She vowed to herself that never again would she forget sun block.

That is the end of my tale.

*clears throat* Well, mini tale of woe aside, during this time a thought hit me – what if Levi got sunburnt? With him living his life in the Underground, until he joined the Scouts such a thing wouldn't even be a concept to him.

(For Coffee with the Captain readers, you are not forgotten. Next chapter is in the works, I just have to bite at inspiration as it comes. Hope you understand!)

In the mean time, you'll find the story below. We recommended this read with a nice cherry tart, adequate fall breeze, and a piping hot cup of Jasmine tea. We believe this will heighten your reading experience. Please, enjoy.

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"Hey Levi, you finished mucking out those stalls yet? Commander says you're taking too long."

"Of fucking course..." Levi muttered to himself, giving a long sigh as he stood up from the ground, wiping sweat off his forehead and rolling his shoulders tensely. He rubbed his bare skin in circular motions, having removed his shirt hours ago due to the unbearable heat of the summer day.

He moved his attention over toward the man, someone he recognized as one of his previous commanding officers.

"No. With how shitty this stable is, it would take a year to get it cleaned properly. If Erwin doesn't like it, he can drag his sorry ass out here and do it his _own_ damn self."

Levi had been ordered to clean the stable; punishment for assaulting a Military Police Squad Leader the day before. He had been cleaning the stalls since dawn and to make matters worse, he was not permitted to leave until they were completely finished. Considering it was now well into the afternoon, to say he was irritable was an understatement. He was tired, he was hungry, it was hot as hell outside, and the fact he was being punished at all only made matters worse.

The officer sighed, giving Levi a reproving look, "You know if Erwin heard you talking like that, you'd only make him angrier with you."

Levi's eyes narrowed into thin slits and he quirked an eyebrow in irritation, "Well bring him out here and I'll tell him _exactly_ what I think about it."

"Honestly Levi." Another sigh was given in response and the Officer shook his head and continued, "Look, I'll tell Erwin you need a bit more time, and as a favor I'll even tell him you seemed apologetic. Still though, I don't think you'll have much longer before Erwin comes out here to chew you out, so I suggest you change your attitude before then. "

Levi crossed his arms across his chest and grumbled, "Don't count on it."

The officer shrugged as he held his hands up defensively, symbolizing his washing the hands of the matter before walking away and giving a chuckle that Levi was certain was at his expense.

Watching him go and growling at no one in particular, Levi rolled his eyes as he moved back to the ground, again grabbing the scrub brush and setting back to work on the walls of the dingy stable.

' _Let_ Erwin come out', Levi thought bitterly, mumbling curses to himself in frustration as he continued scrubbing off the years of caked on dirt.

It had been about two years since he had joined the Scouts give or take, and while he was mostly adjusted to military life, his rough past still got him into trouble from time to time. Just yesterday Erwin had insisted he attend the monthly collaboration meeting with the other factions, a first for Levi, and as the Military Police's representative came into the room, he had stopped dead in his tracks when he noticed the notorious thug, in full Scout regalia. The rep had given a huff of laughter, snidely remarking that he wasn't aware _sewer rats_ were permitted to join the military before leaning down in his face, stating that he should have just stayed in the sewers as no Titan would ever willingly eat shit.

In a moment Levi retaliated, pulling him down even further and forcefully kneeing him in face. Reports said the action resulted in a broken nose, though if Levi had his way he would have broken his slandering fucking jaw. Even now, Levi felt his actions were more than justified, but Erwin had been less than impressed.

Thus, Levi found himself mucking out the stalls today – an exhaustive task usually assigned to entire teams on a rotation basis – to teach him a thing or two about 'self control'.

Levi gave a forced exhale through his nose, trying to refocus his attention and just get the job done. It wasn't that he was afraid of Erwin, hell Erwin should be afraid of _him_ right now, but he was hoping to get done before Erwin came out here so he wouldn't have to sit through the Commander barking more orders at him and giving him more tasks as further punishment.

Time passed by, slowly and agonizingly, and as Levi finally stood up at the job's completion his joints cracked and popped and his body seemed to ache as a whole. It had taken all day. All fucking day. Considering the Scouts had all returned to their barracks and were cleaning up for dinner, Levi knew it was well past six o'clock.

He would murder Erwin.

"About time you finished up, Levi."

Levi stayed facing where he was, muscles tensing as he heard that familiar voice, reminding himself that it was not worth it. Whatever he wanted to say, it was _not_ worth getting into it with Erwin, because while he hated to admit it, he would undoubtedly lose.

Levi clicked his tongue, "How long have you been standing there?"

He slowly turned around and looked over toward the taller man, leaning back against the wooden frame of the stall. He stood there for a moment as he waited for a response, though the rough grain of the wood against his skin was irritating so he stood back up, crossing his arms and fixing Erwin with an expectant stare.

"Not long." Erwin confirmed, continuing to speak as he looked around the long hallway of the stable, "I was coming out to tell you that if you were so set on dragging your feet then you'd be skipping dinner tonight as well, however it seems that won't be necessary. Everything looks to be in order and you did the job thoroughly – even if it did take you the entire day."

Erwin fixed him with an accusatory stare, and Levi scoffed, "Well it wouldn't have taken so damn long if the other teams would stop half-assing everything and do their fucking job right. Next damn time-"

"I am n _ot_ in the mood for this Levi so you'd be wise to keep that mouth of yours in check." Erwin snapped back, looking down at Levi and pursing his lips, "You're _lucky_ all you had to do was clean out the stables today. Your act of insubordination caused a lot more trouble than you can even imagine; as we speak Hanji is up to her ears in reports trying to justify why we aren't discharging you from the Regiment entirely." Erwin shook his head, glaring across the stable toward him, "You're a diplomatic nightmare, you know that? The Military Police have always wanted your head and now you've just added more fuel to the fire, but to top it off you don't even care."

Continuing, Erwin crossed his arms, "Do you _want_ to be kicked out of the military? By definition you'd go right back to the Underground, but we both know the Military Police wouldn't let you live, not for long anyway. Damn it all Levi, you _know_ better – what in Maria's name were you thinking?"

Levi looked toward the ground, not feeling as strong after hearing all details that Erwin had laid out for him. Levi shrugged, his voice less sharp, "That filthy pig, he said... but…" Levi looked up toward Erwin desperately, "How can you expect me to just sit there and do nothing? He got what he deserved, I just-"

"Levi." Erwin called out, silencing his weak excuse and shrugging, "What do you want me to say? He's a higher rank from what's considered a higher faction of the military – and you, a general ranking Scout with no authority and no title - assaulted him. They won't care what he did to start it, you were outranked from the start."

A tense pause fell over the pair and once it became evident Levi had nothing to add to the matter, Erwin cleared his throat, speaking deeply with authority, "Levi. This _cannot_ happen again; better yet, it will _not_ happen again, are we understood? I want an affirmative answer from you."

Levi huffed and threw his arms up for a moment, rolling his eyes as he responded, "Yeah, _yes sir_ …"

"Levi!" Erwin demanded belligerently, livid at the seemingly sarcastic response.

Levi looked toward him with wide eyes, shrugging and trying to explain, "I _get_ it Erwin. I do. And I'll… I'll try harder I guess. You're asking a lot is all and I won't promise something like that. I can't."

Erwin quirked an eyebrow, his expression grave and unsympathetic, "Well, tough. As a person, I understand your reaction and why you feel your actions were justified. As your _Commanding Officer_ however, I insist that you change your behavior immediately. Because of your previous lifestyle, you've burned way too many bridges to keep living like this, and at this point protecting you is not remotely worth the trouble it brings."

Levi frowned, looking to the ground and feeling rather uncomfortable, his voice a quiet sort of mumble, "I understand sir."

The Commander sighed, another pause falling over the pair, "I already told Hanji that you would be there for morning drills tomorrow and I don't want to cancel on that, but I need you to take some time to reevaluate your choices Levi. After morning drills tomorrow, take the day off. Don't report for duty again until you're ready to start acting like a Scout through and through - either shape up, or _get out_. That's an order."

Levi looked up at Erwin, eyes wide as he was about to insist further discussion on the matter, but after seeing Erwin's firm expression, Levi exhaled slowly and gave the smallest nod, "…Yes sir."

Erwin exhaled as well after a moment, turning slightly toward the mess hall before pausing in step and giving the distressed cadet a small nod, his voice more relaxed, "Alright then. Clean yourself up and get some food. Also…make sure you drink some water Levi, you're looking really red."

 _Red?_

Levi felt his eyebrows pull down at his words, watching Erwin walk away and wondering what the hell that was supposed to mean.

Shaking his head for a moment and disregarding the odd comment, Levi moved down the stalls one by one, reaching the end of the hall and grabbing his shirt and button up he had discarded so long ago.

Grabbing the tank first and pulling it over his head, Levi made a face at feeling the skin across his back pull taut, finding the sensation of both the cloth being pulled over his front and the movement needed to complete the action surprisingly irritating.

Levi frowned as he rolled his shoulders within the thin material, a dull pain resulting from the movement and bringing him to rub his shoulder in wonder, his skin feeling hot to the touch even now.

…Perhaps the task was more of a workout than he had thought?

While it was a different sort of pain than the traditional muscle soreness he was used to, there was no doubt that his back and arms were achingly sore. Either way, his body was used to manual labor so he was certain he'd feel normal soon enough. Until then, he'd just go about his evening like usual because after the day's aggravating line of menial grunt work, Levi just wanted to get some food, take a shower, and go to bed.

Nodding in resolve, he put an arm through one sleeve of the white pressed button up, followed by the other. When Levi tugged the fabric on and attempted to button it in a smooth motion, his eyes went wide and he instantly froze in place. A sharp pain shot down his spine as the shirt's seams slid slightly over his sensitive shoulders and Levi could only grind his teeth, regretting that he had ever thought the second shirt had even mattered to begin with.

 _What the hell...?_

Levi tried to crane his neck around to look over his arm and shoulder, wondering if there had been a cut or scratch or something to cause the stinging sensation that plagued him, however with the sun setting and most of the light being blocked by the walls, nothing looked out of place – confounding Levi all the more. With the utmost care and gentleness, Levi ever so carefully, carefully, _carefully_ \- pulled the cotton fabric back off his back, softly slid it down his arms in a way that did not further distress his skin, and decided it would be best to just carry the shirt back to the mess hall and forgo wearing it at all.

Other things became evident to Levi once he moved into the mess hall. The first thing he had noticed occurred while he was standing in line for dinner; being near any heat source was inexplicably excruciating. As if his skin had a sudden sense or innate awareness of heat, his body utterly burned and itched if he was anywhere close to fire or any other heat bearing unit. The second thing he had noticed, rather quickly after the first in fact, was that while his skin _was_ miserably itchy, responding by _scratching_ his skin had been an absolute mistake, and one he swore to himself he would never in Maria's name repeat again. The third thing he had noticed, after being so paranoid and so certain that there was something clearly wrong with him, had occurred after he had finished dinner. He received his food and practically wolfed it down, half way because he was extremely hungry and halfway because while he didn't know what, he was certain that there was _something_ wrong with him and was determined to find out what. After returning his tray and drinking a large cup of water, Levi left the mess hall in search of a bathroom mirror.

While he didn't understand it, had no idea if he was even seeing things right as he observed himself in the sink's mirror, there was no denying that he was red. Physically red. Just… red. Everywhere. Red. His face, his shoulders – Levi turned slightly so his back was facing the mirror and he raised the bottom of his tank upward, horrified that the entirety of his back was also a blazing, glowing and angry red.

Levi was thoroughly puzzled.

What did this mean?

Was he having an allergic reaction to something perhaps? Or maybe it was hives?

Never in his life had Levi suffered from allergies of any kind; however he supposed there was a first time for everything? What could it have been? Would it just go away on its own or…?

Levi had slowly placed his shirt back down, continuing to stare into his reflection for a long moment, his brows pulling down as his eyes swept over his form, not sure if it was serious, or just a fluke, or what in the world was causing this phenomenon.

After a few more moments of brooding and no logical answer coming to mind, he left the bathroom and decided that while his… condition… was irritating, as a whole it only seemed to affect him minimally. Granted he was tired and his skin burned like the fires of hell, but other than that he felt fine. Perhaps it wasn't nearly as bad as he was making it out to be. Levi was certain that in the morning he would be fine and this odd happening would just be a memory.

Moving back to his barracks without incident and being careful to avoid the mess hall, bright lights, and anything else that may cause his skin further irritation, Levi was able to successfully gather his shower necessities, thinking ahead this time and draping the scratchy towel down his forearm and not across his back, remembering the button up incident before.

He moved out of the barracks and headed outside towards the men's shower house, hoping to himself that the line wouldn't be too long as he would kill to wash the dust, grime, sweat, and who _knows_ what else off his aching skin. Thinking further on the matter, perhaps all the built up grime was the underlying cause of his sensitive skin, and the shower would cure him entirely.

He could only hope at least.

Opening the door and stepping inside, Levi's eyes widened and he blinked a few times, the steam of the room instantly setting his skin on fire with the heightened temperature, and Levi questioned within himself how badly he wanted that shower after all.

Frowning as he decided to stick it out - his desire for cleanliness greater than his desire to appease his flaming hide - Levi mumbled another curse under his breath and stepped further into the walkway, finding the line of waiting Scouts and standing behind the man at the end; miserably waiting for his turn for a shower as his skin burned and throbbed continually under the blanket of constant steam.

Shifting his weight from one foot to another for a few moments, Levi took a step to the side to see how many people were in line in front of him. Surprisingly enough, the number was very few, just three people, four including himself – and Levi was grateful for that one small thing that had played out in his favor. While the short line was a pleasant surprise, there was an ever greater surprise that had grabbed his immediate attention, causing him to blink and frown in confusion.

The man in front of him… was that...?

"…Hanji?" Levi asked with a surprised expression, his voice a dubious whisper as there was no way that it was actually Hanji there in front of him. Maybe he was just seeing things wrong or – Levi took another look around the shower room, praying to Maria that in his belligerent state he hadn't wandered into the women's shower room by mistake - Hanji would _never_ let him hear the end of it – but after seeing various men walking around with towels around their hips, Levi gave a relieved exhale, turning his attention back toward the Scientist.

He took another step closer just to make sure that he was seeing things correctly, because while yes he knew Hanji and could never mistake her as someone else, the complete absurdity of the situation made him question his eyes because even Hanji, as fucking _weird_ as she was, knew better than to use the men's shower house, right?

…Right?

To his relief, or perhaps horror, Hanji turned around and she gave a surprised expression, followed by a causal wave like she would give if she saw him across the hall, or in a meeting, or any other normal circumstance. Levi couldn't help but think this was a far from normal circumstance and stared at her in wonder, trying to wrap his mind around how she could be so calm about something so… so scandalous.

"Oh Levi, hey! Did you enjoy dinner? Was your meatloaf dry? Mine was dry, really dry. Had to drink a lot of water to choke it down, but hey, no one said being a Scout meant living the good life right?"

Levi took a moment to assess her words, then shook his head and reminded himself that nothing she said ever made sense, to not take the bait, to not go down that rabbit hole and just redirect the conversation to the more pressing matter at hand.

"Hanji." Levi deadpanned, leaning closer and dropping his voice down low so as to not embarrass her, "This is the _men's_ shower room. The fuck are you doing here?"

While it was hard to miss the various men walking around in a half dressed state, Hanji had missed more obvious details in the past, so Levi felt the need to point it out in a way that would hopefully not be too embarrassing for her.

Hanji looked around, eyes widening and she nodded, "Your observational skills are as sharp as ever cadet; it's no wonder Erwin selected you."

Levi waited for a further response, expecting her to turn red in embarrassment and run out shrieking, however she turned her attention back toward him, her expression gravely serious, "Now about that meatloaf, I was thinking that the next time-"

Levi cut her off, bringing a hand to his nose and feeling a headache coming on – an interesting phenomenon that often resulted from dealing with the Scientist, "The fuck Hanji, why do I even have to ask you; what the fuck are you doing in the men's shower house, you little shit?"

She merely shrugged, pulling her bag and towel closer to herself and waiving a hand again, casual as ever, "Who me? I always shower here."

"…Always?"

Levi blinked at the information, and Hanji continued, "Of course! The girl's shower line is just so long, and considering the stalls are private here it really doesn't matter to me."

He was about to ask how Erwin felt about it, certain that the Commander would have _something_ to say if he heard that she was consistently making use of the men's shower house, but found that he didn't want to try and understand or debate social norms with the Titan's Expert. He would rather let Erwin deal with it if it was an actual problem because he was tired, his skin was still burning thanks to the abundant levels of steam in the area, and he was not in the mood to entertain the likes of Hanji.

He held up a hand, hoping to signify that he didn't want to know, that he was done talking with her about it, and exhaled, his voice having a tone of finality to it, "Fine."

Hanji watched him for a moment, a silence falling between them and she cleared her throat, adjusting her glasses and catching the light with the movement. She leaned forward toward him, "So Levi, about the meatloaf-"

Levi felt his patience snap, and he scowled at her darkly, "Why do you fucking need to know? Yes it was dry, but it's just fucking meatloaf!" Levi glared at Hanji heatedly, taking a breath and scowling all the more as he continued, "I don't give a Titan's ass about the damned meatloaf so just… just fuck off Hanji!"

Hanji merely blinked, looking only further curious and not put off in the least by his behavior as she was rather used to this sort of reaction from him. She watched him evenly, "Levi, you seem strangely upset suddenly. Is everything alright?"

Levi gave a loud sigh, wondering why he was even talking to Hanji about it because he'd only live to regret it, though he wasn't able to stop the impulse and found himself actually responding to her, "No. It's my skin. It hurts like a _bitch_ and for whatever reason it's all red. Well, you can _see_ that I'm sure."

He paused as Hanji looked him over and nodded in confirmation.

Levi continued and grumbled bitterly, "I don't have allergies and it wasn't something I ate cause I was out in the sun all day doing Erwin's dirty work. So yeah. I'm not having a peachy ass day. All I want to do is take a shower and get some damned sleep. Just not in the mood for your shit Hanji."

Hanji gave yet another nod, taking a few steps further as the line moved upward, "No, I understand Levi." She looked back toward him, "But you really don't know what it is?"

It was evident she was waiting for a response and Levi looked around, dumbfounded and all the more irritated that she even had to ask.

"…No."

"I see."

She paused and looked up toward the ceiling in thought, "But you're from the Underground right? I guess that makes sense then."

Levi furrowed his eyebrows, cocking his head slightly and looking at Hanji in confusion, not sure what that had to do with it, but considering she was asking at all then…

"Wait. You _know_ what this is then?"

The Scientist had looked lost in thought for a moment, the sound of Levi's voice causing her to blink and redirect her focus back down toward him. She smiled brightly, looking across the room for a moment at a stall that had opened up before looking back toward him again.

It seemed the line was moving rather quickly this evening because it was already her turn to go next.

"Sure do." She confirmed, "But don't worry Levi, not _everyone_ dies from it. At least, not usually anyways."

 _Not everyone dies from it…?_

The color drained from Levi's face and Hanji pointed across the room, "Stall's open. I've gotta go."

"Whoa, whoa, Hanji wait."

He had tried to reach out for her, set on demanding she tell him what she knew about his skin condition and exactly how fatal it was. With her being a scientist, she certainly knew more about diseases than most people in the Regiment so she would be the best person to ask anyway. How did he contract it? Was there some kind of medicine he should be taking? And did everyone die? If they did die… was it a painful way to go that was slow and agonizing? Or was it quick and simple?

As he extended out his arm to stop her from leaving, the jerky movement caused the towel to slide harshly across his very red forearm, and the words died on his tongue as a fiery pain ran down his spine instantly, causing his toes to curl and his spine to ache.

 _Well, so much for that._

Hanji gave him one last look as she moved toward the shower stall, "Don't worry Levi, you'll know soon enough either way; try not to worry about it."

Try not to worry?

You'll know soon enough?

Know _what_ soon enough?

…What hell-hole disease had he miraculously contracted?

Levi was only further filled with questions, each thought worse than the last, but with Hanji gone he had nothing to do but ponder quietly to himself.

When the next stall opened up, he moved toward it mechanically, still lost in thought and not consciously aware of his movements, still questioning all the details that Hanji wasn't able to lay out for him before.

He undressed quietly and carefully, turned on the water and waited for it to heat up as he continued mulling over thoughts in his head.

After surviving all those battles, taking on titans head on, all those years of scrimping and fighting down in the Underground in a never ending turf war, it would be some nameless skin condition that would finally do him in.

That _would_ be his luck.

While he certainly didn't want to die between the jaws of a titan, dying from some irritating skin disease seemed like a rather inglorious way to go, and Levi puzzled over which was the shittiest way to die.

Trying to bring the matter to a close – if it really was that serious then obsessing over it wouldn't help one way or another – Levi stepped into the shower, and in that moment, knew with certainty the goddess' hated him.

"Fucking shit!" his voice was loud and echoed across the walls, though that was the least of his worries.

Hot water rained down on his delicate skin like molten lava – Levi hadn't thought about the water temperature and just set the water on high like normal – and his eyes went wide and mouth agape as red hot pain shot across his entire being, worse than anything previous he had experienced _; so, so much worse_.

He immediately left the stream of water, not caring if the towel was itchy or not, just knowing that he had to get that hot water off him _now_. He carefully patted the clinging water droplets off as gently as possible, while clenching his teeth and giving a slight hiss as the too firm towel made contact with his sensitive back, face and arms.

There was a chuckle that echoed across the walls in response, and Levi recognized the voice as Hanji's.

"The hell is so funny?" Levi called out after he had sufficiently patted water off his body, though even still painful waves of agony swept over his spine whilst causing him to shiver from the drastic temperature changes from the hot water to the cold air in such a short amount of time.

"You'll need to take a cold shower if you don't want to upset your skin anymore." came her simple response, and Levi's eyes narrowed.

 _Well wouldn't that have been helpful five minutes ago…_

He grumbled over the sound of falling water, "Thanks for the tip."

He moved back toward the shower head, adjusting the nozzle toward the colder setting and giving it yet more time to alter the water temperature once again.

Carefully stepping into the shower again, Levi wasn't sure if he loved, or hated the result.

On the one hand, the cold water actually felt great against his pounding skin. While the pressure of the water he could do without, it was a wonderful change of pace as the coolness of the water seemed to have a soothing effect to some extent. On the other hand however, not all of his skin had been affected by his skin condition, so standing in a stream of ice cold water was rather unpleasant in its own way, and Levi found that he preferred the shower be done with regardless the cooling effect it had.

He went about his showering ritual as quickly as possible, only having difficulty come the time of actually washing his body. He had paused for an extended moment, looking at the washcloth and knowing how horrible it would feel being scrubbed against his skin, and sighed. He was determined to clean the grime and sweat off himself and with a breath, forced the washcloth across his skin, tensing and gritting his teeth as it became excruciatingly irritating, moving with purpose to end the miserable shower as soon as possible.

Teeth chattering and head pounding at the sheer coldness of the water, a freckling of goose bumps rose across his skin and Levi turned the water off, standing for a moment to recollect himself and retreated back toward his towel, completely miserable.

His red skin still ached and throbbed even after the cold shower that Hanji suggested and the rest of him was freezing fucking cold, but at the very least, he was clean.

Shivering as he once again gently patted the water off himself; Levi ran the towel through his hair and began to get dressed, desperate to be rid of the cold that had seeped into his bones. He pulled on a pair of sweatpants, feeling somewhat better with the thick material over his legs and continued to towel through his hair some more, sorting through his things and grabbing his shirt next.

He frowned for a moment, noting to himself that it looked heavy and more importantly, hot. Levi shook his head and mentally kicked himself, wishing he had thought ahead better. _Why_ did he have to grab that shirt?

Deciding instantly that it wasn't worth it and he would just walk back to the barracks without it, Levi folded the heavy woolen sweater back into his bag, collected his things and gently draped the towel around his arm before moving to the stall door and unlocking it.

As he opened the door, he was surprised to see Hanji already there, hair wet and falling over her shoulders, and a big green towel wrapped around her body.

Levi blinked as he closed the door behind him, looking around the room and seeing if anyone was at _all_ concerned that she was clearly a female merely wrapped in a towel and parading in the men's shower house, but after seeing little response or even basic acknowledgement that she was there at all, Levi stood in complete bewilderment.

As if to add more confusion to the matter, a man moved toward them, addressing Hanji directly, "Hey Hanji. If you don't mind, can I get behind you both? You're sort of blocking the door."

Levi looked at the man, then at Hanji, then back at the man, even more dumbfounded.

"Of course, sorry about that Tom."

 _Tom? They were on first name basis?_

 _What the actual hell?_

How could he be the only one who was concerned about it? How had he never noticed before? Had she really been doing this for years now? One would think that someone would have said something after all this time, right?

"Levi, move – you're blocking the way!" came Hanji's voice again, and Levi took an uncertain step to the side, then mentally reminded himself – as he had done countless times before – that this was Hanji. Due to the simple fact alone that it was Hanji, it was best to not ask questions, not try to understand the absurd set of rules she lived with, and just let her be. He would only regret it, as he always had before.

He shook his head, "Whatever."

He moved away from the stalls and moved to the other side of the room, curious to see if the shower had helped his skin at all like he had hoped. Granted considering the entire experience had been awful and getting dry had been just as painful as before, he highly doubted it, but still, he wanted to at least check.

As he moved, he heard the light footsteps of Hanji following after him, amusement evident in her voice, "Still worried?"

He debated not answering her, not sparing her a glance as he moved to the wide mirror, "What do you think, four eyes? And why are you following me? Shouldn't you be getting dressed, or at the very least, getting out of the _Men's_ shower house?"

"I will," Hanji confirmed as she looked at herself, then back at Levi through the mirror's reflection, "But I want to make sure you're okay before I leave. Seems like you were having a difficult time in there."

He rolled his eyes; looking over toward her through the reflection as well, then back to himself as his eyes swept over his skin, turning every which way and frowning as he observed himself further.

As if reading his thoughts, Hanji gave a long sigh as she spoke, "Still as red as ever. I'd say even more so right now, but that's just temporary cause the shower irritated your skin a bit."

Levi looked toward her, and she waved a hand as she continued, "Don't get me wrong, you'll still be red like that in the morning, but it won't be practically glowing like it is right now. Eesh. That _does_ look bad Levi, I don't envy you at all."

"Hanji, what the hell _is_ it?" Levi pressed as he looked back into the mirror, turning around and looking at his red back, confusion gripping at him again, "You said not everyone dies, but still. How serious is it? Does it heal in time, or should I see the doctor?"

He continued observing his skin, pressing his palm over his shoulder, surprised to see that a white handprint was left in its wake, before it slowly faded back to red.

"To see a doctor you'd have to get a pass from your commanding officer so you can set an appointment. Maybe the pharmacy will have something stocked for you? Either way, you've got to start through your commanding officer so I'd start by talking to them first." Hanji added in, and Levi nodded absently.

It took a moment for Levi to remember who his actual commanding officer was. Though he _technically_ had a Squad Leader, it was just on paper - a mere formality for audit and documentation purposes as no current division leader dared to try and command him. After Isabel and Farlan's death years ago, Levi had been passed from Officer to Officer, not once able to effectively work in a team setting and causing quite a ruckus wherever he went. After a large majority of the Scout Regiment refused to work with the dangerous reformed criminal, Erwin decided it was best that Levi report directly to him and save the headache.

While it was Erwin he physically reported to, on paper it was another matter entirely as there was no reason for a basic, unpromoted Scout, to report directly to the Commander from an outsider's perspective. Levi had stopped caring what name was printed at the top of his file and stopped paying attention to that sort of thing a long time ago, considering it was just solely Erwin he had to work with. Normally such a thing didn't matter, but every once in a while…

He gave a long exhale.

Who did he _technically_ report to at this point..?

Wait.

"Aren't _you_ my Commanding Officer Hanji?"

If memory served, he had been moved under Hanji's team a number of months back, as she was possibly the only person aside from Erwin himself who wasn't afraid of being in the same room with him. It was an ironic placement as her team was more for research purposes then field work, but no auditor would actually know the difference and the matter was settled.

"Huh." She responded after a moment, laughing at the thought, "Wow, I guess I am – on paper at least. Funny, I completely forgot about that. Either way though, that should be enough for the medical staff, so I'll see what I can do. I think Erwin told you about drills in the morning, but after that I'll reach out to them. Sound good?"

Levi blinked, then shrugged, finally turning to look at Hanji, "Well, I mean, I guess, sure. It's just, what the hell am I supposed to do till then? What if this thing spreads? Am I even going to live till morning? You said it was pretty bad right?"

Hanji gave a slight laugh, moving a step toward him and smiling simply.

The scientist grabbed his shoulder with one hand, causing him to wince, and without warning, her other arm slapped, hard, against the expanse of his bare back, her hand landing with a final sharp slap across his other shoulder, and Levi's mouth dropped open and his eyes went wide as a wave of torrential pain swept across his being, feeling as though his skin had just been ripped off his bones entirely.

He coughed as the breath left his lungs, and he placed an arm down on the counter for support as pain wracked across his body.

Before he could even form a single coherent thought, he could feel Hanji leaning down near the side of his face; her voice was gentle, but almost impossible to make out through the overwhelming pain coursing through his body, "Relax Levi. _It's just a sunburn_."

Waiting for just a moment, she stood back up fully as Levi attempted to recover from the firm slap across his burnt skin. She continued, "Put simply, you were out under the sun so long that the heat of its rays burned you. It's just like any other burn you've given yourself in the past, just a lot more skin was impacted than normal so that's why you're so miserable."

Giving another cough and slowly standing up, Levi glared at Hanji, still breathing harshly as the blinding pain began to slowly subside.

He hissed venomously, "If you ever-"

She shook her head, "Oh don't be so dramatic Levi, I couldn't resist. Besides, if you think that was bad, just think about how you're going to get through drills tomorrow. I imagine the 3DM harness won't feel too great rubbing across your back. Food for thought at least."

Levi hadn't thought about that, and a growing sense of dread churned his stomach.

Hanji adjusted her glasses and a more serious look fell across her face, "On the whole Levi, you're actually fine, but I'm afraid your skin is legitimately burnt so you're going to be severely uncomfortable until new healthy skin grows in to replace it. A sunburn is actually a common thing for people that work out in the sun, but I'll admit that you burned yourself pretty good here. As I told you before, I will talk to the pharmacy tomorrow and see if they have anything that will make you more comfortable – I wasn't kidding about that much at least. In the mean time, the best thing you can do to help yourself is to keep out of the sun, drink lots of water, and try to get a good rest each night."

Levi shook his head at her words, continuing to glare at her, "That's it? I should kill you Hanji. You had me thinking it was some horrible condition and that I had like a week to live."

Hanji smiled widely, "Oh that? Yeah, no – you're fine. Just sun burnt."

Levi looked back into the mirror, mentally accepting her words and deciding that they made perfect sense and accounted for all his symptoms, as well as why for the most part he did feel fine. It was just his skin.

His _burnt_ skin, apparently.

"Besides," Hanji continued a teasing quality to her voice, "You wouldn't actually hurt me Levi. You care about me too much, what with me being your upmost respected Commanding Officer and all."

Levi scoffed and rolled his eyes, "Don't push it four eyes. Just be happy you're in a towel, or I would have knocked you out for pulling shit like that. I'll have you know that fucking hurt."

He tried to fix her with a serious look, however both of them knew that he would never actually hit her, towel or not, and Hanji merely gave a wide toothy grin, causing Levi to groan and regret speaking at all. There was never any winning against a girl like that, and Levi could only blame himself for even speaking with her at all to start with.

"Well then I'll just count myself lucky in that case." Hanji grinned good naturedly, then looked back to the other end of the shower house and nodded, "I'll leave you to get some rest Levi, and don't forget about the water okay? I'll see you in the morning by the training grounds. Don't be late!"

Giving a single nod as the scientist disappeared into a changing room; Levi redirected his attention back to the mirror, giving himself another long appraising look before giving an accepting sigh and deciding it was best to just do as she said.

He left the shower room not long after, breathing a sigh of relief as the cooler air hit his skin, a welcome change from the generous amount of steam that blanketed the shower house.

He moved into the walkway of the grounds, feeling utterly exhausted and knowing with certainty it was only going to get worse. All he had to do was get through drills, and he would have the day off duty to 'think things over'.

Visions of the harness pulling tight against his skin, moving him every which way as he flew through the air came to mind, and Levi frowned to himself, cursing his bad luck. Of _course_ the one thing Erwin had scheduled for him involved use of the 3DM gear. Maria forbid it be paperwork, or lectures of some sort, no, just the 3DM gear.

Levi sighed as he rolled his shoulders again, his skin burning and throbbing from the simple movement.

Tomorrow was going to be a long, long day.

* * *

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End of Chapter One

...

* * *

*shakes head*

And here I told myself this would just be a one shot! Well as I have continued to write this out, it (as usual) just gets longer and longer, past the length what any normal one shot should be, so I've decided to split it in half and post the last chapter in a week or so. What started as just the inspiration of a sunburn turned into a hybrid sort of Beginnings story, though I can't pretend I dislike it. Levi in the early years, before rank and before he was fully settled into the Scout life must have been a real riot! (Or terror, depending on who you were I suppose!)

Thanks for the reviews and support! I'm planning on posting the remaining half of this story come next week around this time, so I'll see yall very shortly! Thanks again!

~Midnight


	2. Chapter 2

Readers!

Happy Halloween!

As usual, my updates take longer than I anticipated, yet slow and steady I press on! Between the fun events of these last few weeks, preparation for Halloween, among with balancing work, sleep, and all the other shenanigans that make up a single day - I bring you the last half of this story and will finally be able to mark this complete. From here, I'll move back to focus on my Thanksgiving piece and get the next chapter posted just as quickly as I can. (Just in time for Thanksgiving mind you!)

Enjoy the last half and thanks for your patience!

...

* * *

...

"And as you can see-"

Levi could only pick up traces of the voice as he flew upwards through the surrounding trees, working in synchronized formation with the Hanji squad, rolling his eyes and trying to stay focused past the complete pain and anguish that was his current position.

"-we train those in the Scout Regiment with incredible precision, making our skills sharp and elite when we go outside the walls to battle the Titans head on."

The announcing voice belonged to Erwin, who was currently leading a presentation of sorts for this year's crop of military trainees in hopes that a greater percentage of them would choose the Scout Regiment over the Garrison Unit once seeing their elite level in skill.

As Erwin spoke, Levi flipped through the air, diving down from the tree's canopy and spinning diagonally, grabbing his blades at the last moment and lopping off the neck of the wooden cutout prepared for today's demonstration.

The action caused him to grind his teeth as the harness slid mercilessly over his back, pulling taut and forcing weight to distribute across his spine as he moved through the air. Levi set his jaw and took a deep breath, certain his skin was absolutely raw at this point, but knowing there was nothing he could do but tough it out and wait for the required drill sequence to come to an end.

As he jumped off the wooden cutout and moved back into formation, Levi heard various 'ooh's and 'ah's – a few people even clapping at the sight – and Levi scowled as he shot himself toward the next tree, irritated all the more by their unnecessary cheering.

The ever _so_ important drill sequence that Erwin had been adamant on him attending had been nothing more than a stage performance for new cadets, a gimmicky sort of talent show that was supposed to wow them into joining the regiment in hopes that 'you too can be like this'. Levi sure as hell was no show pony, and the fact that he even had to subject himself at all to this spectacle was degrading on a personal level - not to mention that his sunburn was making the entire experience long and miserable.

As he tried to just focus on getting the damn thing over with, he heard a loud delighted squeal from Hanji and she jumped ahead of the pack in a complicated manner, zigzagging from tree to tree as she advanced – a move that was both unnecessary and used entirely too much gas – though still earned more sounds of amazement from the watching crowd below.

Levi tried not to groan.

The Squad followed her through the trees, swapping in position and doing further unnecessary maneuvers that shocked and amazed the watching crowd below, until finally reaching the last titan cutout at the edge of the training grounds.

As practiced, Hanji's speed increased dramatically as she moved down toward the feet of the titan; the remaining members of the formation swinging around it from various angles and acting as 'decoys' while Hanji aligned herself properly from below. With another gleeful laugh, she shot herself upward, splitting the entire cutout into two perfect halves until she reached the nape of the wooden cutout, spinning in full rotation with her blades and lopping the head clean off in a dramatic and flashy display.

There were further gasps heard from below, and the Hanji squad moved to the ground as the bits of the wooden titan fell downward, landing with a loud earth moving _thud_ and sending up a cloud of dust in its wake.

Landing on the ground in perfect synchrony with the rest of the squad, Levi blinked a few times as the harness uncomfortably bunched up around his shoulders, standing up slowly as the dust lingered in the air.

There was a pause as the dust began to settle, and Hanji gave a single nod toward the squad while there was still limited visibility, signaling that it was time to salute as a final touch of completion.

Levi felt his eyes narrow at the silent command, but knew that with him already being on thin ice with Erwin as it was, that it was best to not sport an obvious bad attitude and allow the moronic ceremony to be completed without his negative view of the event.

Again in perfect synchrony, Levi brought his fist to his chest, giving a loud 'Sir!' as they looked to Erwin for further orders. The Commander looked back to them and nodded, then addressed the watching crowd with a grin.

"And our Scouts have eradicated the titans!"

The group of cadets rose dramatically to their feet, clapping and cheering at the job well done, and Levi again reminded himself to just stay in attention, to avoid eye contact, and just wait it out because surely something this fucking stupid couldn't last that long.

Hanji relaxed from attention and took a step toward Erwin, clearing her throat and addressing the trainees further, "Thanks so much for your support! I'm Section Leader Hanji Zoe and it means so much to us that you guys made time in your training regimen to be with us today."

The enthusiastic scientist continued her greeting, going over the various benefits of being in the Regiment and using other sugary words in attempts to curb their upcoming decision.

After a few moments, Levi toned her out, only able to focus on how uncomfortable and miserable he was in his current state, again wondering just how long this event would drag on.

While he _had_ tried to rest properly as Hanji had suggested the night previous, his sunburn had made it so he couldn't sleep on his back, and while he had attempted to sleep on his side or stomach, he never was able to find a comfortable enough position and had tossed and turned most of the evening – not to mention the blanket felt way too itchy to be considered tolerable, and made sleeping only that much further out of the question.

Come the morning, matters had only gotten worse. His skin was hyper sensitive to sunlight – something he had found out while grabbing gas tanks for the drill's performance – and to top it off, as he got dressed in the proper white pants and hellish button up, he was horrified to find that he had numerous large blisters patching all throughout his blazing red skin.

Just putting on the 3DM gear had been difficult, to such an extent that simply walking in full uniform was excruciating, but actually _using_ the 3DM gear was another matter entirely. They had spent hours practicing their drills, making sure each movement was coordinated perfectly, and Levi's back, arms, face, shoulders – everything ached from head to toe.

To find out that all his pain and suffering was just for some sniffling trainee brats was just the icing on the cake, and at this point, Levi was in a rather foul mood.

"And this here is Petty Scout Levi Ackerman!" Hanji's voice grabbed his attention away from his thoughts, and as her footfalls neared him, Levi reminded himself to stay in attention and try his damndest to just ignore her.

"He's been in the Scouts now for two years, and as you can see, has very sharp skills that were purposely and intentionally engrained in him since day one of being a Scout."

' _Wrong_.' Levi thought bitterly, staring forward undaunted. He could feel his lips pull into a thin line, ' _I taught my fucking self you dumbass.'_

Hanji continued with a smile, a devious glint in her eyes as she spoke, "He's living proof of how successful our follow up training programs are. Once you complete your basic training and join the Corps, we aim to follow up on those skills and further teach you the things you need to know to be an elite force. Just like Levi here."

At that, Hanji again slapped an arm across his shoulders in a half sort of hug, and Levi tensed his hand that was placed across his chest until his knuckles turned white, not wanting to break attention, but _Maria fucking dammit all_ , why did she keep doing that?!

He felt his breath leave his lungs as his back and shoulders burned from the harsh impact, and he set his jaw, still keeping his attention forward and taking deep breaths as a hot fire spread throughout his body.

 _If Hanji knew what was best for her, she'd avoid him for the remainder of the day._

She gave a laugh as she rubbed his shoulder, her actions more therapeutic this time and actually being rather helpful in dispelling the pain, before dropping her hold on him and walking away entirely, addressing the crowd further with other half-truthed promises.

Levi exhaled in relief as she walked away, waiting out the insufferable event in attention until finally the command "Dismissed." was given.

Not caring if it was rude or what sort of impression it may have left with the brat-ish cadets, Levi stormed out of the training grounds, feeling pain in his every step and swearing to himself that if he ever got his hands on Hanji he would outright murder her.

As he moved away from the group, he heard a voice call his name, the voice notably young and female, however Levi couldn't recognize it as anyone he knew or anyone of consequence, so deciding that person could go fuck themselves, he continued moving without even a single glance back.

He moved straight to his quarters; his irritation at an all time high as he began to take the 3DM gear off piece by piece, carefully moving to take off his button up and tank. While he wasn't surprised, it was aggravating to discover that many of the blisters had ruptured under the pressure of the harness, and so taking his shirt off had been toe-curlingly painful due to the shirt melding into his skin as the blisters attempted to heal themselves, forming slight scabs through the shirt's pressed material.

Peeling off the fabric inch by inch, Levi cringed as the half healed sections tore off from his body, leaving quarter sized patches of raw flesh across the expanse of his back.

Levi groaned in exasperation and ground his teeth, his skin throbbing relentlessly from the hours of previous abuse. He was only further certain that this had been a large step back in the healing process of his sunburn.

Grabbing his previously white button up that was now smeared with dirt, sweat, and random yellow patches of half formed scabs, he scowled and threw the shirt straight into the trash, knowing that no matter how many times he washed the fabric, the pale yellow stains would never completely come out.

Whatever.

He was off duty now that the dumb drills event was completed, and considering he wouldn't be able to rest or do anything of benefit to help his irritated skin, he may as well spend the remainder of the day outside. Though being in the sunlight was an incredibly uncomfortable phenomenon, Levi had realized earlier this morning that being in the _shade_ wasn't actually all that bad. At the very least, Levi preferred the fresh air to the stuffy walls of the compound, and his decision to spend the day in the great outdoors was more or less finalized.

Levi had first moved to a nearby washroom, careful to wash the dirt off his torn back to keep it clear from infection. He had put on his loosest woven shirt possible; a brownish sort of knit that hung lightly off his collarbones – a shirt so big that it didn't touch his chest or back.

While it may not have been his most flattering attire and Levi had often considered throwing it out due to its far too cumbersome size, he could never justify fully ridding himself of a good, albeit large shirt, and today he found he was thankful for it.

Leaving the dorm areas completely and grinding his teeth as he stepped out into the sun – already highly sensitive to the heat of the day, especially in those more tender areas – Levi quickly moved through the grounds, already knowing his exact location of choice and determined to get there without any further interruptions.

On the very edge of camp was a lone tree that sat on large rolling hill. Not only would there be adequate shade provided by the large overgrown tree, but the spot gave both a good view of the Regiment's activities throughout the day, as well as a one of a kind viewing platform for sunset.

While Levi wasn't sure if he would in fact be sitting outside all day where he would actually witness the day's sunset, it wasn't like there were further duties he was expected to attend to. The only thing that stood out in his mind was that he was previously intending on reaching out to Hanji to see if the pharmacy had anything for him, however at this point he was fucking pissed off with her, and preferred to not be around her if it could at all be avoided.

Moving up the hill and all but giving a sigh of relief as he finally felt the coolness of the shade over his skin, Levi made his way toward the base of the tree and sat down stubbornly, determined to not move a single inch for the rest of the day. It took him a few good minutes to find a comfortable position where he was relaxed against the base of the tree, and not irritating his skin any further. After a few moments of shuffling, he found a spot that worked decently enough, and he allowed himself a contented sigh as he tried to unwind from the way too stressful morning.

He watched various squads as they completed the days tasks; some were running laps around the grounds, others doing physical conditioning - Levi noted that a new group had taken over the training grounds and were working on very basic 3DM sequences, and he briefly wondered what ever had happened to the previous cadet group. He scanned the grounds in a disinterested manner, lazily looking from section to section to see what other shitty theatrics Erwin had planned out for them.

Surely they wouldn't be that hard to find considering they would look rather out of place when compared to a full fledged soldier, however Levi wasn't able to find a group of young lost teenagers who ooh'd and ahh'd at their military lives like dumbass tourists, and after a few moments of unsuccessful searching, his interest was lost.

Giving another sigh and looking up towards the sky, Levi mentally reviewed the conversation he had had with Erwin yesterday, or perhaps more correctly, the conversation Erwin had had with him.

As strange as it was, it was undeniable that Erwin had been giving him more and more responsibility as of late; expecting him to be better and better, faster than any Scout, and stronger too. It was just assumed that he would follow orders blindly and act as a perfect tool that functioned flawlessly by Erwin's side. To make matters worse, all these things began happening without warning.

Levi couldn't point to a specific date, but looking back now, the months previous had been filled with more meetings, tactical discussions and new strategy developments, Levi had helped train more teams than he could count; honestly it was running him ragged. While _yes_ , he did trust Erwin and believed in his vision, at the end of the day, all of the sudden responsibility and high expectations were a big change, and one that was hard for him to just naturally excel in. Try as he may, there was still a part of him, a very much _alive_ part of him for that matter, that did _not_ like taking orders, that was used to people following _his_ judgment calls, and used to people following _him_ around.

Still feeling rather grouchy about the matter, Levi attempted to clear his mind, and hours began to slowly pass as Levi mused over the sudden change in Erwin's demeanor.

With nothing to keep his attention, Levi felt sleep starting to claim his mind, a welcome change of pace considering the night previous – until a voice, a high sort of girlish voice, grabbed his attention into full alertness.

"Hey! Hello?"

Levi opened his eyes, looking over toward the source of the noise and wondering just who it was that had disturbed him. He could hear the shuffling of grass and footfalls, and his eyes fell on a young girl, clearly one of the cadets from before. If the training logo on the jacket wasn't an immediate give away, the fact that she looked young, maybe fifteen or sixteen, was a huge indicator as well.

He watched silently as she made her way up the remainder of the hill, and he leaned forward slightly, craning his neck up to see if it was just the one girl, or if it was in fact the entire training class that was coming to see him. If that was the case, Levi would have some serious words for Erwin, as he had been told that he was off duty today and babysitting a bunch of brats was not on his agenda.

"You know, you are hard to track down!" the girl stated as she gave a laugh, having fully made it up the hill and placing her hands on her hips. After taking note that it was just the lone girl and not the entire training class, Levi relaxed back against the tree, fixing her with an irritated scowl.

She sighed as she looked down at him, continuing casually, "I asked about a dozen people where you were, and they all gave me this haunted look and said they had no idea."

…Not surprising.

Levi watched her for a long moment, not sure why she was even seeking him out in the first place. Thinking back on it, this was the same voice that called out to him before in the grounds as well. What did a _trainee_ need from _him_?

"Well you found me." Levi stated, suspicion evident in his tone, "Now can I help you with something, or did you just get your ass lost out here by mistake?"

"What? No, I'm not lost!" the girl responded, her voice showing signs of offence.

Levi simply quirked an eyebrow, and the girl gave a groan, "I came here to find you. _Like I just said_."

She added that last sentence in a low, irritated mumble, and Levi shot her a glare, not appreciating getting backtalk from a young brat that looked too weak to hurt a fly.

A moment passed as he continued to watch her through narrowed eyes, the silence becoming rather thick between the two, and she gave an apologetic sigh, finally folding under the weight of his stare.

"Sorry, sorry - let me clarify, I came out here to say thank you, okay? As you can tell, I am in the training group right now for this year's military cadets, and I think it's really amazing that you took time out of your day to do that demonstration earlier with your team. I mean, all of you guys were amazing, but _you_ were really great."

Levi rolled his eyes.

Great. It was some sort of _fangirl_.

He really would have to murder Erwin. At the very least, he would have a stern talking to with whoever it was that told this brat where he was sitting. He did _not_ need this hassle.

"It wasn't my choice. And that's not my team." He added simply, hoping to be rid of the nuisance as quickly as possible.

The cadet merely shrugged, giving him a miffed look as though sensing their interaction was not going well, "So? You did it all the same right?"

Levi didn't have a response to this, and the cadet continued factually, "More specifically, I came out here because you look really, really sun burnt. Now in training we haven't really done too much work with the 3DM gear, but I do know how tight the harness is, and the fact you were still able to perform so well is really incredible. How you can even _move_ with a sunburn that bad is a real head scratcher to me. I mean, didn't that hurt earlier? Like, a lot?"

Levi tried to make a point of ignoring her, staring off into the distance with his head tilted away from her, though the girl seemed to be rather stubborn, or maybe dense, as she didn't budge from her spot, instead just gave a simple shrug and sat down on the ground a mere few feet from him, grabbing out her bag and shuffling through it purposefully. For a moment no words were exchanged, and Levi was debating getting up and going to a new location considering she couldn't take a damned hint.

It wasn't that the girl was straight up annoying per say, however at the very least, he didn't want to encourage a trainee to start following him around and inadvertently pick up any of his bad habits. If the news got to Erwin that Levi went out of his way to sour a new trainee from picking the Scout regiment, he'd be packing his bags sooner than he could say 3DM gear.

After a few more moments, the girl stopped her shuffling and grabbed a tin from her bag, opening it with a triumphant, 'Ah ha!'

Inside there seemed to be a clear sort of…what was it, lotion perhaps?, Levi observed with slight curiosity as he peered over her shoulder, and as she dabbed some onto her fingers, the air filled with a minty kind of fragrance.

He looked over to her in silent question, admittedly curious as to what was so important she had to find it then and there.

The girl explained, her attention moving from the strange lotion and back to him, "I tried to call out to you earlier but I'm not sure if you heard me or not. Well, anyways. Here."

Without warning, the girl reached over toward him and before he could even register what her intentions were, her hands moved straight onto his face, fingers gently placing the minty… _he wasn't sure what,_ over his nose and cheeks in a single quick motion.

Levi blinked, looking at the girl in outright alarm, "Hey! What the fu-"

His words died on his tongue as the sort of _gel,_ he decided _,_ had an instant cooling effect; for the first time silencing the dull pain that had plagued him since the night previous. He looked at the girl, mystified, and she gave a giggle as she grabbed the tin and placed the lid back on with a silent snap, her head held high as she wore a prideful grin across her face.

"That's a medicine made from the Aloe Vera plant, it's a sort of gel that's really great for burns." She looked at the tin wistfully, seemingly lost in thought for a moment, "I…I brought this back from home actually. Looks like I'm not the only person who's prone to nasty sunburns huh? Either way, I was thinking earlier back at the demonstration that you look like you could use its healing qualities. Seeing how red you are makes me cringe. Really, how did you do all of that earlier? Ouch!"

Levi remained silent, not sure what to make of the girl. While he didn't like to be touched, _especially_ by strangers, this girl's level of confidence, her innocent sort of assumption, somehow made her strangely tolerable. At the very least for a random encounter, he found this wasn't all that bad.

"I was… thinking you should keep this." She stated quietly, before raising the tin of what she called Aloe Vera upward and looking at him expectantly.

Levi's eyebrows rose, about to reject her offer, but she shook her head firmly, beating him to the punch, "I insist, really. You need it a lot more than I do, and after you taking that time out of your day, even if it wasn't your choice, it's a way I can say thank you. I mean it. You guys are really inspiring; I hope that when I'm a Scout, I can be as fearless and confident as you guys are."

She gave another laugh, seeming to think out loud as an afterthought, "Of course, I'll have to actually _learn_ to use the 3DM gear before that can happen, huh? That's kind of…an important first step I guess."

Levi gave a baffled shake of his head, finding it impossible to stay irritated at the cheerful, far too positive cadet. He grabbed the small tin she had placed next to him, opening the lid and again smelling the minty gel it contained, admittedly grateful for something that would finally relieve his miserable sunburn – if only temporarily.

As if taking her cue suddenly, she gave a nod in return and stood up, "Well I'd love to stay and chat, but we weren't given that much discretionary time for lunch, and you really _were_ hard to track down. Levi was it? Yeah that sounds right." She paused as she put her bag back around her shoulders, adjusting her jacket and speaking further, "Well, my training class won't be done for another year or so yet, but maybe I'll see you around after that? Either way though, I really appreciate it. You guys were really amazing out there. I hope I can be like you! Oh, and make sure you get some good use out of that aloe, apply it frequently so you heal up faster!"

At that, the girl gave a bright grin, waving a goodbye before turning away and taking her first steps back down the hillside, humming slightly to herself as she walked away.

Levi blinked and sat up more fully, alarmed that just like that the girl was leaving without warning, just as mysteriously as she had come. He shifted his weight forward, ready to get up and chase her down if need be.

He called out after her, "Girl, what's your name?"

Hearing his words, a more serious look came over her face and she turned around, her brows pulled down into a firm expression as her eyes searched for his. Her voice was suddenly loud as she locked eyes with him and she gave a full on salute, "Sir yes sir! My nam-"

Levi made a face and groaned as he stood up, dusting himself off and glaring at her, "Damn it all, calm down! It's not like I'm your fucking Captain or anything - I just want your name."

She blinked in surprise for a moment, then her expression melted into the smallest of grins. She replied warmly, her voice cheerful, "Oh...well, it's Petra. Petra Ral."

At that, she gave one last wave then silently moved down the path without a second glance back, the sound of her humming getting quieter and quieter until it could be heard no more.

Levi watched her leave, smirking to himself as the various cadets frantically waved at her from across the grounds, causing the girl to all but sprint to meet them on the path ahead. Levi suspected she was actually late in her attempts to report for duty; a suspicion that was confirmed once he saw the girl give a half hearted salute before taking off towards the track and running a lap around the training grounds, the common punishment for being late in the military.

Admittedly amused as he watched her take off, Levi shook his head and adjusted the tin in his fingers, retiring back towards the tree and taking a seat once more.

Not wasting a single moment, Levi pulled the large shirt off his back and scooped a generous amount of the gel onto his fingertips. Running the aloe over his shoulder and down his back, he carefully massaged it into his skin, being particularly careful around the patches where his skin had broke open. He carefully repeated the action for the other side of his back, enjoying the clean minty smell and the slight tingly feeling the aloe had on his skin.

Allowing himself a few moments to enjoy the soothing lull of the aloe, the gel successfully bringing a halt to the endless throb of his sunburn, Levi placed the lid back on, giving a relieved sigh and relaxing further into the tree.

He gave a slight 'huh' and rolled the tin back and forth between his fingers absently, thinking about the girl who had gifted it to him mere moments ago. A ghost of a smirk came to his face, and he mumbled slightly to himself, "Petra."

It was a good name, Levi decided internally as he set the gel down beside him, thinking further about the spritely Cadet. It was a strong name for a stubborn, scatterbrained girl. Scatterbrained, stubborn, _kind_ girl, Levi mentally corrected himself, his smirk more pronounced.

Perhaps he _would_ see her in a year or so, assuming she had the nerve to pick the Scout Regiment at all. While it seemed to be a constant theme that hardly any of the Trainees would willingly pick the Scout Regiment over the bandwagon Garrison Unit, somehow Levi knew that the ginger headed girl would indeed be showing up again.

If so, he'd have to remember to thank her.

Thinking about it more fully, Levi frowned to himself.

And what about him?

Come the next few years, would he still be around in the Scout Regiment? If Erwin's previous words held even the smallest ray of truth, perhaps not. While he couldn't imagine any different sort of life, he technically didn't _have_ to stay here. He could always sneak away in the dead of night, find some shady city to lay low in for a while and try to make a way of life for himself in hopes that the authorities never found him.

Truthfully, that option was far from appealing. While yes, being able to make his own choices and live solely how he saw fit was a freedom he achingly missed at times - in the Scout Regiment he had purpose. There was always direction, a clear cut goal, and people working together to make those goals attainable.

Levi shifted his weight, trying to wrap his mind around a future in the Scout Regiment.

Levi hadn't actively thought about something as abstract as his future in many, many years. His joining the Regiment _at all_ had been a ruse from the start; however it seemed that he was beaten at his own game as years later he was still there, faithfully following after Erwin and only delving deeper into the military lifestyle he had once been so adamantly opposed to.

Levi smirked to himself darkly, finding the whole thing rather fucking ironic.

For those in the Underground, giving their lives away to the military was a get out of jail free card of sorts, to such an extent that joining the military was practically a rite of passage for growing youth. Year after year, children excitedly waited for the day they would be old enough to leave the Underground in exchange for the military life, and their families would gladly wish them a permanent goodbye, because even the future of being mere Titan fodder was still far more promising than a life spent in the Underground.

When he himself had come of age to join the military, there had been various sources of encouragement, pushing him to sign his life away and just get _out_. He had certainly considered it, after all how could he not? That was years before he had become a known thug with territory, resources, and respect. For a vast majority of his childhood he had lived spooked, on the run, and always fending for himself. Every day was a miserable uphill fight for survival, and joining the military would have given him a stable future and at the very least a guaranteed meal each day, so the option had been more than tempting at the time.

Stubborn to his core however, Levi had refused to give his life away to support a Royal government that didn't give two shits about him, and he outright refused the military life, determined to find his own path to freedom.

Looking back now, all his stubbornness had been for nothing because he had wound up in the military anyway.

Still though, the Scouts were different than he had expected. They were focused on getting _out_ of the Walls and giving humanity the chance it never had. That was a goal so much more widespread than he had ever even thought to dream of in his younger years, and while the idea was so abstract and wistfully too good to be true, it was a dream he could proudly stand behind and support.

It was something _worth_ dying for.

Better yet, Levi thought as he focused up toward the clear blue sky, it was something worth _living_ for.

And besides, what other options did he have left at this point?

* * *

...

* * *

Levi looked toward the closed wooden door of Erwin's office, taking a small breath of preparation.

Giving a few firm taps on the door's surface and walking in, Levi opened the door and closed it behind himself quietly, already knowing who would be in the room. If there was anything he had learned during his time as a Scout, it was that everyone ran by a very predictable schedule within the Regiment. Considering it was Wednesday, Hanji and Erwin would be having their weekly collaboration meeting.

Erwin had instructed him to take yesterday off duty, which he _had_ done, however the Commander had failed to give any further specific instructions in regards towards reporting back for duty again the following day. He wasn't sure if it was supposed to be a perpetual thing, or if Erwin was going to come talk to him again; overall it seemed pretty vague.

Levi, not being one to procrastinate, preferred to just get the whole thing over with and decided he would seek Erwin out first thing in the morning.

A surprised Commander and Squad Leader greeted him as he entered the room suddenly, exchanging looks for a moment before Erwin stood up, pointing to a nearby chair.

"Petty Scout Levi, good morning." Erwin acknowledged briefly, "I must say you're earlier than expected. Have a seat."

If he was displeased or irritated at the sudden interruption, it was hard to tell, however Levi didn't dwell on the matter and continued moving into the room, not really caring if he was an inconvenience or not. He gave a single nod of greeting in return, moving against the side of the wall and slouching against it, forgoing the aforementioned chair altogether. He watched Erwin sit back down casually, then moved his attention over to Hanji in a slow, purposed fashion.

His eyes narrowed into thin slits, "If you come within five feet of me, you won't live to regret it, four eyes."

Erwin's mouth fell open, ready to reprimand the soldier, however Hanji's chuckle of amusement silenced him, and it was evident she was not offended or alarmed by the blatant threat. It was clear he was missing something.

She gave an innocent smile, still laughing slightly, "Oh come now Levi, don't tell me you're still mad? It was harmless fun, really. At least your sunburn's looking a bit better, that's a plus right?"

Levi rolled his eyes with a snort, moving his attention back to Erwin and deciding, _for now_ , to leave the Scientist be until more pressing matters were addressed. He cleared his throat, "Well Erwin, I'm here. What now?"

Erwin took another extended moment to look at Levi, then back at Hanji, but sensing that there was no immediate danger of bloodshed, the Commander finally settled his attentions solely on the new addition to the room, moving past the odd interaction.

He folded his hands in front of himself neatly, his eye contact unwavering, "Well that depends Levi. Are you prepared to stop behaving like a rogue and work with purpose in our ranks, or is this self serving agenda the new constant for you?"

Feeling the gaze of both Hanji and Erwin, Levi waited a few moments, trying to pick his words carefully. He gave a low nod as he thought the question over, then looked toward Erwin, speaking lowly, "I can't be the perfect soldier you want me to be Erwin. I'm not making excuses, but there are parts of me that may not ever function the way a normal Scout does, _period_. However…"

Levi paused for a moment, brows pulling down in contemplation as he continued, "I believe that there are other elements and skills I bring to the Regiment that others cannot begin to replicate. I can't pretend I'll always make the best judgment call or that I won't put little shits in their place when they deserve it, but I'll use greater discretion going forward to ensure that I am not hindering the Scout's goals.

Levi looked up squarely, his expression fierce, "But I _want_ to stay Erwin; make no mistake about that. My place is here, and I know that. It's just hard being someone's damned lackey all the time. I'm not used to it, but…but if that's what it takes then so be it. I'm not leaving the Scouts until the Titans are wiped off the face of the earth."

Levi pressed his lips together firmly, fixing Erwin with a challenging glare.

There was a long pause after the Scout's explanation, and Levi watched as, again, Erwin and Hanji exchanged glances, seemingly to evaluate his answer to some degree between the two of them in silence. It was Hanji who responded first. She gave a shrug of sorts, before giving a nod to Erwin, who gave her a quick nod back.

The Commander looked back to Levi.

"Hanji and I were actually just talking about this before you walked in. Well," he amended after a thoughtful pause, "more accurately, we've been talking about it for the past few months."

Levi felt his brows pull down.

Past few _months_? While sure, he knew that his beating the Military Police officer had certainly brought rise to more than a few conversations between the leadership of the military, what had he been doing the months before that raised such concerns? If anything, he had been doing more than the average Scout; why the long term concern?

"…Sir?"

It was Hanji who spoke, her voice more serious as she addressed the matter at hand, "We know that you aren't going to be a basic cog like everyone else Levi. While we do expect the same basic principles of behavior across the board, we understand that with your background as well as the bad blood between you and the Military Police, well… things aren't always so black and white with you."

She looked over toward the Scout, her expression still serious as she explained further, "These past few months we've been giving you more responsibility, access to inside information, duty to teach fellow cadets; I'm sure you've noticed. Call it a test or what have you, but we wanted to see how you would handle the increased duties of the military life – if you would rise to the occasion, or crack under pressure. While the meeting on Monday was an unfortunate occurrence on both sides of the coin, as a whole, we've agreed that you've surpassed our expectations. Monday _was_ a setback as you made a lot of important people upset with you again, however it is only a temporary issue. In time it will be forgotten altogether, and we've decided to look toward the future at this point."

"Levi." Erwin spoke next, expression even more serious than before, "We've been considering promoting you to Captain." There was a light, shadow of smirk at his lip at revealing such information, and with an exhale he continued, "Of course the military police is still pushing for your discharge at the moment, however there are larger factors at play than just one group's notably biased opinion. As a whole the military agrees that you are ready."

Erwin watched the Scout closely, studying him for a reaction. "You heard Hanji's explanation, but what do _you_ think about this? Going from Petty Scout straight to Captain is a vast jump in rank - I don't think I've seen such a thing in all my years, but again as Hanji stated, things aren't always black and white concerning you. The real question is, are you even _interested_ in such an advance in responsibility? As you can imagine, such scandals and go-it-alone mentality cannot happen again, under any circumstances, no matter what is said or done when you are in such a role. While such a raise in rank does come with certain privileges and abilities, make no mistake that your freedom is only that much more limited as your will is exchanged for the demands of the Regiment."

The previous light smirk only grew wider across Erwin's lips, a slight challenge evident in his tone, "I'm well aware, however, that we can't make you do anything you don't want to do…so again I have to ask Levi, how devoted are you _actually_ to the Scout Regiment?"

Levi blinked at the forward question; somewhat wishing he had taken Erwin's offer earlier to sit down.

He had been expecting to get an earful of should haves, next times, 'I can't believe you…' and other annoying speeches from Erwin and Hanji; perhaps some verbal beatings about how long the paper work had taken, or how cumbersome the medical expenses had been on the Scout's annual budget, but not this. The concept that all this had been leading up to an impending promotion left him at a loss for words.

A thick silence fell across the room.

"A promotion sir…?"

Levi's voice was hesitant and laced with a sort of skepticism. He knew he hadn't heard wrong, but he had to clarify; still having a hard time following their line of thinking.

He was met with an even stare, and he dropped his gaze to the floor in contemplation, admittedly surprised.

What were they _thinking_? Him? A _Captain_?

He was far from a saluting, yes sir'ing, rule following, military life is the life for me, sort of person. He thought that would have been obvious by now, considering a good 99% of the Scouts outright refused to partner with him (and visa versa for that matter) but… apparently not.

He gave a long sigh, still looking to the ground and thinking out loud, "Captain huh?" He shook his head in distaste and frowned, "Captain Levi…that sounds _weird as fuck._ "

Erwin chuckled in response, and Levi looked up at him briefly, quirking an eyebrow. Erwin gave an amused grin, "Trust me Levi, the title will be the least of your worries. We'd first have to build you a basic team-"

"-Which may take some time," Hanji added in matter of factly, "Finding people who willingly will report to you may be a… _delicate_ process."

Erwin gave a confirming nod and continued, "You'd need to complete additional training, you'd be responsible for the disbursement of information and wellbeing of your team, not to mention the paperwork you'd be responsible for on a perpetual basis, medical checks, requests for equipment and maintenance…"

Levi groaned at the mention of paperwork and other nuisances, rolling his eyes and frowning deeply.

He looked at Hanji and Erwin skeptically, "…And you think I'm ready for this?"

Hanji nodded, "We know you are."

Levi shook his head with wide eyes, clearly showing he thought they both lacked sense before responding with a dark chuckle.

Erwin shifted papers around on his desk, grabbing out a manila folder labeled 'Levi Ackerman' and shifting through the papers inside as he spoke, "Before you respond, allow me to share my vision in what this promotion fully entails, or better said, what I _hope_ it entails, perhaps. I have a dream that in time, we will have an elite squad. I want it to be a team comprised of our best scouts who persistently live through expeditions and are superbly skilled on the field. It is my hope that our missions centralize around the success of this team. We would use them as a sort of revolutionary living weapon – an entire Squad that specializes in taking the titans out, something unlike anything we have now. Of course, the squad would need to be led by a ranking Captain or higher with even greater ability, for it is the strength of the leader that unifies and gives strength to the team."

He paused, nodding his head forward toward Levi, "I'm hoping in time, that _you_ will lead this elite force Levi. Not that you're ready for that particular role yet, but that's where we are hoping to start you with a basic team now, and as time moves on, work towards making that dream a reality. Will you partner with us to make this a reality, or do you intend to remain a Petty Scout for the rest of your life?"

Levi crossed his arms, a long pause falling across the room.

His eyes narrowed, "Very well Erwin. I will follow your lead and rise to… _Captain,_ " he stated the word like a curse, "but only under one condition."

Erwin blinked in surprise, looking at Hanji for a moment before turning his gaze back to Levi, "…What's your condition?"

Levi held his gaze, his expression unreadable, "Come the time for this elite force, however far off that may be, _I_ will be the one to decide who joins the squad."

A look confusion fell across his Superior's faces, and Hanji opened her mouth in protest, "Levi, I don't know if we can allow that to happen. When it comes to the formulation of a team, a lot of it is out of our hands. Just finding you a starter team is going to be difficult, let alone allowing you to hand pick-"

"Well figure it out." He cut her off firmly, explaining further in a miffed manner, "The military has a long history of producing completely shitty soldiers, however those _I_ trained back in the Underground all those years ago are _still_ better than the Scouts you have today. If you want me to act as a Captain and watch over your elite little shits then fine, but I will not waste my time trying to teach a mediocre Scout with no potential how to do a better fucking job, just because some Military moron in a suit thought their numbers were decent enough."

He reiterated, "When it comes time for the Squad to form, _I_ will be the person who decides who has that potential. I myself will be responsible for their training, and if I have my methods you don't agree with, I expect you to take a step back and allow me to direct such a team as I see fit."

Another long pause fell over the room, and Hanji shook her head, giving a shrug of wonder and directing her attention to Erwin, seemingly unsure of how to respond.

The Commander gave a long exhale through his nose, tapping his fingers across the desktop in contemplation. He pressed his lips together, still looking into the desks surface as he spoke. "Hanji."

"Sir."

"How long before we can get a team assigned to Levi?"

She adjusted her glasses, nodding her head back and forth in thought, "I'd say…maybe two weeks? Three weeks tops, if there are any unexpected bumps in the road that we haven't already accounted for."

He gave a slight nod, raising his line of vision back onto Levi, "Alright then, consider it done. I don't know _how_ I'm going to make that happen for you, but you have my word none the less. If you are able to prove your worth as a Captain worthy of the elite force I envision, I will uphold my promise and ensure that only your selections are considered for the Squad. Is it a deal?"

Levi gave a sigh, halfway having expected Erwin and Hanji to try to renegotiate his terms. He didn't think they would agree so readily. It wasn't that he was completely opposed to being a Captain and seeking an easy out, but he was no fool to the level of devotion such a role required.

Being a Captain meant meetings, training, tracking performance, not to mention being full time responsible for the lives of one's subordinates. Plus there was the paperwork. Oh gods, the _paperwork_.

However, Levi reminded himself, he had already made up his mind before he had even walked in the door that things were going to be different. His fate, if he even believed in such a thing, was clearly intertwined with the Scout Regiment, and more so than that, he would never complete his goal of destroying all the Titans as a base line Petty Scout.

He needed resources, materials, ability to have a functional standby that leveraged more than just his strength alone. He needed…

He needed a _team_.

Levi finally nodded, "Deal."

A smile came to Erwin's lips at his acceptance, the previous tense atmosphere dissipating, "I was hoping you would say that Levi. I have high hopes for you, as always." He paused, his smile only growing brighter at his words, "Let me be the first to say congratulations, Captain. I'll send up the necessary forms to Head Quarters and we'll make a formal announcement by the end of the week."

Levi held a slight sigh back, nodding once and wondering just what the hell he had gotten himself into.

He lazily pushed himself off the wall, motioning toward the door, "Are we done here then? This sunburn hurts like a bitch and I'd like to get back to my dorm before the sun gets too high."

 _Plus_ , Levi thought to himself inwardly, there was the fact that there was a tin of aloe that was there waiting for him, however he didn't feel like disclosing that unneeded bit of information.

Erwin gave a dismissing wave of his hand, "I'll come track you down later on today to discuss your upcoming training schedule, but that shouldn't be for a while yet. Enjoy your afternoon."

Levi took a first step toward the door, eyes falling first on Hanji who had a suspicious smile across her face.

Levi felt a sudden wave of hesitance wash over him.

The last few times he had seen that smile, it had ended in blinding pain.

He stayed rooted in his spot, back against the wall, watching her narrowly.

"What, four eyes."

She gasped in fake offense, "So defensive! I just wanted to say congratulations, _that's all_." She smiled widely, "I know you'll be great Levi." She paused as she spoke, bringing a finger toward her lips thoughtfully, "Though I guess this means I won't be your commanding officer anymore huh? That's okay though, I'm sure we'll find other times to hang out. I know you value our friendship. Besides," she grinned cheekily, "You never did get back with me about that meatloaf."

Allowing himself a smirk, Levi took a single step closer to the grinning scientist, just close enough to touch the back of her chair, yet ensuring he was still out of range for another slap across his back.

In one smooth motion, he lightly pulled back on the chair, shifting its balance onto its back two legs until the balance shifted just enough and began tumbling slowly backward toward the ground. He watched in satisfaction as the Scientist inched backward ever so gently until falling full force. Hanji emitted a loud yelp in surprise as she fell, landing shortly after with a satisfactory thud against the floor as the chair finally tipped over.

She looked up at him from the floor, glasses catching in the light and a red hue coming to her face from the shock.

"Levi," she sputtered, taking a deep breath and blinking, adjusting her glasses back across her face, "Wha- what the heck?"

He deadpanned, staring down at her with a quirked eyebrow, "That's _Captain_ Levi to you, four eyes."

At that, he walked out the door, smirking at first, but then frowning to himself in afterthought.

 _Captain Levi..._

It really _did_ sound fucking weird…

* * *

...

* * *

Aaand that's a wrap!

Yall didn't even KNOW I was going to throw Petra in there, did ya? Ha ha!

It all started with a Tin of Aloe :)

Gosh I feel so witty right now!

All jokes aside, this piece really came out of no where for me and took a large portion of my free time as I focused on writing it out. I did take inspiration from my personal sunburn back a few months, but the story soon morphed itself into something deeper that focused on beginnings- not just for Levi becoming a Captain, but also for Levi meeting Petra, as well as her first very steps into the military lifestyle.

It was unexpected for me to have written (though only hinting really) so many ups and downs - writing out a happy go lucky Petra that's only going to get more nervous, jaded, and distrusting as the years in the military harden her perspective, to writing out a Levi who had never wanted the military life -at all - yet decided to bite the bullet and go all in anyway, even though it denies the very essence of his being. Its like trying to bottle a hurricane, yet he somehow musters up the willpower to do so. Heartbreaking for me to write, even if I did only write it out skin deep.

To think, I wanted this to just be a fun, light hearted, easy read like my Valentine's piece a few years back. Ha. I tried right?

Anyhow, thanks for reading and sticking around.

Stay safe out there and have a wonderful reading journey!

~Midnight


End file.
